My dog woke me up this morning with a slight whimper. He very quietly let me know that he needed to go outside. As I stood there watching him expertly catch the Frisbee in mid air while kicking up the morning dew from his precise gallop, I recalled the night before.
It had been a long week, work was steady with product coming in and out for the Christmas season, and I was able to buy myself a new car. Like all new gadgets, I was like a kid on Christmas, who couldn’t wait to open his presents.
Friday rolled around and I headed to work in my new mini tank, proud of the machine I had dreamed about for almost five years. I sat down at my desk and made fun of my co-worker while we discussed ideas to ship the product out on time. After landing several insults at each other in a playful school yard way, we spoke to the associates and started off the day. Once everything was shipped out and all the reports filled and put away, we powered down our systems and headed out. I went to the gym and did the last part of my four day split work out routine that I had been working on for the past several weeks. I did some bench pressing, among other triceps and chest exercises, then knocked out a few miles on the cycle machine, all the while thinking about the evening ahead.
I left the gym and headed home. I let the dog out and my wife rocked up blaring a new song in her car. She got out all happy and excited and in anticipation of the evening ahead. We put the dog inside and headed toward her parents house.
I pulled the new jeep into the driveway and my father in law came out with a smile on his face “nice car” he exclaimed while checking out the exterior. He jumped in and complimented me on my new purchase.
We drove down toward West Chester and went to a Greek restaurant that he had been wanting to take us to for a while. My mother in law was in Louisville for the day to visit family, so it was just my wife, my father in law and I for the time being.
We pulled into the parking lot, after going through several different neighborhoods and roads while my father-in-law recalled stories from his youth and plans for future development in the region. He ordered us some gyros and a plate of chips and salsa. The food was amazing and I will definitely be going back again soon.
After feeling refreshed from the delicious food, I fired up the young beast once more, and the new engine roared into life. We sped toward the infamous fear fest and King’s Island. When we got there, smoke was hanging around the park while zombies and other Halloween creatures lurked around every corner, praying on girlfriends, wives, and young boys.
We headed toward the blood-drums and watched the band play on their makeshift instruments. It was cool to see so many people standing around listening to this authentic music play, after the rumble and thump of dub-step music built up the momentum.
My mother-in-law then joined us and we rode on several rides. The weather was damp and drisly and kept most people away. Which meant that we could pretty much walk right on to any ride we wanted. We went through several haunted houses including ‘the slaughter house’ and encouraged a couple of girls to be brave and go on ‘flight of fear’. It felt good to see their faces light up after we got off the ride, and want to ride it again.
By the time 11pm rolled by, I was completely drained. The week had caught up with me, and the temperature was beginning to drop. I felt like one of the zombies as we walked onto ‘the stunt track’. I was enjoying listening to my family talk, even though I was barely registering my surroundings by this point. It was still nice to be out in the spooky atmosphere. We walked onto one more ride, the infamous ‘diamondback’ and the speed and acceleration of the tallest fastest ride in the park woke me up enough for me to drive home.
My mother-in-law took a quick look at my new car and complimented on how nice it was, but said that she would have to see it in the daylight to take it all in. She, like the rest of us had a long day, and was ready to go to bed. We said our goodbyes as they drove off and I proudly powered up the new beast once more. We cruised down the highway toward the house as I recalled all the other great times we had been to King’s Island since Brooke and I had first dated. We had a great experience, and look forward to future adventures at the park.
Becoming American 